Message Board - Tampico Area Historical Society, Tampico, Illinois

Message Board > Mary Ellen (Terry) Gholson

Mary Ellen (Terry) Gholson
The Tampico Area Historical Society encompasses parts of Whiteside County and Bureau County in Illinois. Focus is on Tampico, Hume Twp., Hahnaman/Deer Grove, & Prophetstown in Whiteside County & Yorktown & Thomas in Bureau County.

Page: 1

Linda143 1 post Dec 23, 2006 1:37 PM	Hello, My name is Linda Gholson. I am Mary Ellen's eldest great grandchild. Unfortunately, my great grandmother passed away yesterday on December 22, 2006. She left us peacefully in her sleep. I was hoping that you folks could please help me gather as much information as possible on her life in Tampico as a little girl. My great grandmother was a wonderful story teller, so I know a lot of her past (my history), but anything you may be able to help me gather I would greatly appreciate. I loved my greatmother very much and I was close to her, so I would be very grateful. Thank you very much, God Bless, and Merry Christmas Linda Gholson
Administrator Denise 478 posts Dec 23, 2006 3:31 PM	Hi Linda, I am truly sorry for your loss. I had the pleasure of meeting Mary Ellen a few years ago. Her grandfather, Charles Rufus Aldrich, built my house! She had not been inside it since she was about 12 years old, but she described it to a "T". Her memory was fantastic! At the historical society, we have the fourth grade school ledger, when she was a classmate with Ronald Reagan. She is listed right below his name. Have you seen it? If you are not in the area, I could take a photo of it and send it to you. I'm sure you know her dad, Dr. Harry Terry, is the doctor who delivered Ronald. I'm hoping others will chime in with more Mary Ellen stories for you. I'll check the Tampico Tornado and keep an eye out for articles. I recall one of her celebrating her birthday, or perhaps she was a guest at a bd party. I haven't done a site search on her name yet. If you get a chance, you should do that, too. We do have some photos of her posted on the site. I just ran across a nice photo of her and son Terry that I took a few years ago, when I first met her at the annual Ronald Reagan Birthday celebration. I think I posted it to the site, but if not, I will. It would be great if you could share some info with us on her life as well. Have you made contact with Dianne Sandau? She is related through the "Aldrich/Glassburn" line - she being a Glassburn. Again, I am truly sorry for your loss. It is good to know she went peacefully. Denise ---------- Denise Family History Coordinator Tampico Area Historical Society Last Edited by on Dec 23, 2006 3:31 PM
Administrator Denise 480 posts Dec 24, 2006 7:40 AM	Hi Linda, I received the following email from Terry Gaskill: Linda, When I was small I would play with the Gholson boys and they were older then me. The one thing I remember about Mary Ellen is she always had a kind word to say and I have never seen her get angry for any reason. She was a very gentle lady that I respected very much. I believe Bob Gholson has passed on also, but I'm not sure. Linda, are you Bob & Linda Gholson daughter? I believe your mother was Linda Miller Gholson, but as I get older my memory seems to be failing. You are more then welcome to write me at gaskiltl@thewisp.net as I live in Tampico about a block West of the Gholson house on E 2nd St. May you and your family cherish the memories of your family that has passed on as they were a lot of fun to be around. Do you live in Sterling, IL? If Linda Gholson was your mother she was a very pretty lady and Donna Miller was in my grade in school and we graduated in 1964 and I turned 60 this year and married Lorraine (Berge) Gaskill same age. Your have our sympathy in the passing of your great grandmother. Always remember this time of year gives us hope as the Baby Jesus came to save us from sin so we can live eternally in heaven! Sincerely, Terry L Gaskill, Eldest Son of Doris & Marion Gaskill. My Dad died at a young age also 51 and he was the telephone man in town and Archie Yarde, now deceased also, work together with my Dad. We have great memories of the past Last Edited by on Dec 24, 2006 7:42 AM
LesN 99 posts Dec 24, 2006 8:47 AM	Linda, I am sorry to hear about Mary Ellen's death; which is particularly untimely with Christmas being tomorrow. As you probably know, one of my hobbies is transcribing the Tampico Tornado newspapers (1886 thru 1920). I did a quick search of my transcriptions and found the following articles. Please accept my sincere condolences. Les Niemi August 16, 1907 Have Quiet Wedding Mrs. Nellie GLASSBURN and Dr. H.A. TERRY were married Saturday evening at 8:30 o’clock at the Catholic parsonage by Rev. L.X. DuFOUR. The wedding was a very quiet affair and came as a surprise to the many friends of the couple. The only witnesses to the ceremony were Harold GLASSBURN and Miss Grace SULLIVAN and the wedding was kept secret until the next day when it leaked out. Both parties are prominent people in the community. The bride is the daughter of C.R. ALDRICH one of the best and most influential citizens. She is a bright, active lady of pleasing manners. The groom is a graduate of on of the best medical colleges and although he as been engaged in the practice of his profession for only a year, he has built up a good practice and is liked generally. Mr. and Mrs. TERRY are making their home in the SIPPEL house which the groom has furnished nicely for their occupancy. The many friends of the couple and The Tornado extends [sic] congratulations and best wishes. April 29, 1915 GLASSBURN-SEIKMAN Marriage A wedding which came as a surprise to many Tampico people occurred last week Wednesday at Geneseo when Wayne GLASSBURN formerly of Tampico and Miss Florence SEIKMAN of Geneseo were untied at the Catholic parsonage. The wedding was a quiet affair and after the ceremony the couple went at once to Serling wher they have established their home on Second Avenue. Mr. GLASSBURN is a Tampico young man and is the son of Mrs. H.A. TERRY and a grandson of J.W. GLASSBURN founder of Tampico. He is a licensed undertaker and for some time has been employed in Roy WOODS large furniture store in Sterling. He is a fine young man, steady aand well liked. The bride formerly resided in Tampico and is a young lady who has many friends and is very well liked. Tampico friends of the couple tender congratulations. June 26, 1919 DEATH TAKES BRIGHT YOUNG MAN LAST WEEK WELL KNOWN YOUNG MAN DIES AFTER LONG BRAVE FIGHT WITH LUNG TROUBLE. Wayne GLASSBURN, a young man and a member of two of the old and prominent families of this community and also a grandson of the father and founder of Tampico, died at his home here last week Thursday afternoon bout 11 o'clock after a year's sickness of tuberculosis which affected his bowels principally and made it impossible for him to retain sufficient nourishment to make a successful fight against the slow but sure advance of this disease, although he made a splendid fight, and his relatives gave him the best medical treatment that money could buy including experts advice and examination, good nursing, treatment in sanitariums and loving, watchful, tender care. Funeral services were held last Saturday at 10 o'clock at St. Mary's church conducted by Rev. L.X. DuFour and internment was in St. Mary's cemetery. There were a large number of relatives and friends present to pay their last respects to the deceased and express their sorrow at the death of one who was cut down in the bloom of manhood. The following young men acted as pall bearers: John and Thomas DARBY, Tom COLLINS, Richard KELLY, Geo. BURDEN Jr., Guy ELMENDORF. Francis Wayne GLASSBURN was born Nov. 23, 1893 in Tampico and was the third son of Mr. and Mrs. Fred GLASSBURN the former being the son of the late J.W. GLASSBURN the founder and father of Tampico. He secured his education in the Tampico schools and later took a course in embalming in Chicago. He went to work in Ames, Iowa in 1915 for Adams Furniture Co. and a year later entered business in that city for himself which he successfully conducted until March 1918 when he sold out and went to work for a large firm in Chicago. While there his health broke down and he came back to Tampico in July 1918. He was married to Lillian SEEKMAN in Geneseo, April 21, 1915 to which union one child, John Wayne was born in March 1916 and who with the stricken young wife survive. He is also survived by his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. C.R. ALDRICH, and his mother Mrs. H.A. TERRY, a half sister Mary Ellen TERRY, and his brother Harold who reached home from overseas duty just about ten days before Wayne died and it was a source of satisfaction to the family, the brother who had been in active fighting in France and the deceased that both were permitted to live to see each other. Wayne's father who was a well known citizen of Tampico died in 1900. Universal sympathy had been expressed for the relatives who have been under a double strain the past year. Wayne was sick and it was apparent that in spite of anything that could be done by doctors, nurses or treatment in the sanitariums that the disease woud conquer and while he was gradually growning worse Harold his bother was facing Hun bullets in France with a possible prospect of never returning. When the armistice was signed the relatives hoped and prayed that the son in France would reach his bedside before the summons came and the meeting to the two brothers was most tender and touching. Wayne while in his health was considered a good business man and was making good until his poor health so sapped his activities that he had to reluctantly give up when prospects were the brightest and when the future with all its promises was bright. He was a good, steady reliable youne man and his taking at the age of 25 has made a deep impression on relatives and friends. October 30, 1919 Mr. and Mrs. Chas. R. ALDRICH and Mrs. H.A. TERRY were out at Anita, Iowa last week visiting Mr. ALDRICH's brother, J.H. ALDRICH and also the latter's daughter who came there from Seattle for a visit. C.R. ALDRICH says that they had no rain in Iowa west of Cedar Rapids and that the corn crop in southwestern Iowa is certainly very big. July 1, 1920 PROMINENT RESIDENT IS SUMMONED BY DEATH Mrs. C.R. ALDRICH For Many Years Well Known Resident Here Dies Tuesday Morning. DEATH OF MRS. C.R. ALDRICHS Death called another old ciitzen of Tampico and took one of the members of a very prominent and well known family of this community when Mrs. C.R. ALDRICH passed away Tuesday morning about 9 o'clock following five weeks suffering from throat and nervous trouble. Everything that coulc possibly be done, tender, loving and watchful care by relatives, expert medical treatment and nursing, seemed of no avail and she gradually grew weaker until the end came on Tuesday morning to her long, useful life at the family residence. Funeral services will be held Thursday morning at 9:30 o'clock at St. Mary's church with internment in St. Mary's cemetery. Mary QUINN was born Oct. 15, 1844 at Woodstock where she spent her girlhood coming to this vicinity when a young lady some 52 years ago and has been a resident here ever since. She was married to Charles R. ALDRICH in Sterling Nov. 13, 1869 and after their marriage they settled on a farm south of Tampico where they resided a number of years until they moved to Tampico, which place has since been their home, and where she has been loved, honored and respected by not only her own immediate relatives but by a host of friends and neighbors. She was a faithful, consistant member of St. Mary's church and took an active part in its activities and lived its teachings in a consistant manner. She was a good woman in the fullest meaning of that word and her interest centered in her family and friends. For more than fifty years she lived a happy wedded life with her husband whose helpmate and companion she has been through all the trying early days of this country whenit required stout harts and brave determination to win success. She will be greatly missed for thefamily circle xxx xxxxx of good wife and there xxx xxx is always a heavy burden xxx xxx but leaves sweet xxxx xxxx to be cherrished by those who knew her. She is survived by her husband, Charles R. ALDRICH one of Tampico's best known and prominent citizens, three children, Mrs. H.A. TERRY, C.W. ALDRICH and Arthur ALDRICH, also five grand children and one great grandson, three sisters as follows: Julia COONEY of Woodstock, Hanna SULLIVAN of Elgin, Margaret FLAVIN of Chicago and one brother John QUINN of Delevan, and a host of old neighbors and friends who extend to the husband, children and other relatives their sincere sympathy in their hour of sorrow. October 21, 1920 Mrs. Wayne GLASSBURN and little son John Wayne visited at the home of Mrs. H.A. TERRY and other relatives. Last Edited by on Dec 24, 2006 11:02 AM
Linda143 3 posts Dec 25, 2006 4:35 PM	Thank you so much for the information on my great grandmother Mary Ellen "Terry" Gholson and her family. It has been exciting for me to learn as much as I have in such a short amount of time and I thank you all for your help. I was asked to post some information about my grandmother as I knew her, and I am so very happy to do so. My great grandmother Mary Ellen was the widow of Buster Gholson. Together, they have two sons Terry and Bob, and one daughter Judy. Bob is my grandfather. Mary Ellen has 4 grandchildren, the eldest being my father Bob Jr. She has 8 great grandchildren (I am the oldest at 24) and one great- great grandson on the way (I am 6 months pregnant). As some of you may know, my g-grandmother was a school teacher for some time as a young women. At some point, Buster and Mary Ellen moved to Missouri. I am not sure when or why, but I remember visiting there as a young girl. About 16 years ago Buster died. Mary Ellen's eldest son moved in with her from California to help her. A couple of years later, Mary Ellen and Terry made their way back to Illinois settling in an apartment in Sterling, Illinois. Growing up, I saw my g-grandmother quite often. She told us (my sister and I) stories of her youth, including that her father was the town physician and he delivered Ronald Reagon. I remember her getting interviewed quite often by the press about her childhood with Mr. Reagon. She had a remarkable ability to remember even the smallest details. Her memory amazed me. My g-grandmother was a person who never forgot your birthday, a holiday, or special event. We were all very special to her and she was so special to us. I am sad that my younger cousins will not have the chance to spend more time with her and hear more of her stories. She was a very generous woman and very caring. I am so greatful to have had the relationship with her that I did. We became pin pals over the years and she was a wonderful writer. I will continue to be grateful for any news articles and stories that have to do with Mary Ellen or her family. I appreciate all the nice things everyone has said about my grandmother and I know my family will appreciate the kind words as well. I hope to continue to keep in touch, as this as been a very theraputic process for me. Knowing so much more about my grandmothers family makes me feel that much closer to her. Thank you again. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!
Administrator Denise 482 posts Dec 27, 2006 11:18 AM	Linda, Thank you so very much for sharing these stories on Mary Ellen. I, too, found her to be delightful and was amazed at her memory for minute details. As I have said before, her g-father, Charles Rufus Aldrich built my house in about 1879. She had not been in it since she was about 12 years old. Her grandma collected dolls and Mary Ellen was allowed to play with one "special doll" when she came to visit. It meant so much to her. She described the house in perfect detail. Not much has changed through the years - at least not to the original part of the house. What is now a half-bath off of the kitchen and abutts a built-in china cabinet in the dining room, was at one time a "butler's pantry" which she said was her favorite place to play as it was a large opening into the dining room (now the built-in china cabinet). There is a picture of the exterior of the house on this website - 201 W 2nd Street. I have photos of the exterior dating back to before 1909. The old "Reagan School" use to be directly across the street from my house. Many of the area organizations would meet in that building. They would take photos of the group outside - so many of these group photos show my house (built by C. R. Aldrich) in the back ground. The oldest one that states a date is 1909, but you can tell by the trees and shrubs in other photos that they are even older than 1909. I always meant to have her over for "tea" sometime, but her health deteriorated before I could do so. I will miss her and feel so fortunate to have known her, even for such a brief time. I'm sure Dianne Sandau (related through the glassburn/Aldrich line) could share some special stories as well. Again, I thank you for writing to us and sharing. (I am at the historical society right now and they are delivering the flowers to the funeral parlor next door - for Mary Ellen's visitation tonight.) Denise ---------- Denise Family History Coordinator Tampico Area Historical Society Last Edited by on Dec 29, 2006 9:22 AM
LesN 100 posts Dec 27, 2006 2:53 PM	Linda, Here's some more TERRY clips from the Tampico Tornado that I have transcribed. - Les April 26, 1906 Doctor's E.W. WAHL and H.A. TERRY were in Sterling Saturday where they attended a tri-county Medical meeting. Dr. McCORMICK of Bowling Green, Ky., was present and delivered a lecture to the doctors in the afternoon and to the public in the evening. A banquet was served in the evening at the M.E. church. August 24, 1906 Mr. and Mrs. Arthur ALDRICH, Mrs. Nellie GLASSBURN, Asa GLASSBURN, A.C. OLIVER, Dr. TERRY and John CONROY went into camp on the banks of Rock River near Lyndon last Saturday and are enjoying an outing. August 31, 1906 Dr. H.A. TERRY has rented the rooms over BREWER's hardware store, formerly occupied by the telephone central office, and will have his office there hereafter. March 29, 1907 Asa GLASSBURN and Doctor TERRY ran full tilt into a spongy, wet bit of road near John THOMPSON's place south of town last week Thursday night. Owing to the darkness the condition of the road was not plainly discernable but it was soon found out when the big car began to bury itself. After a couple of hours of grunting Arthur ALDRICH's team pulled the stalled auto on firm ground, and the fair ones in the rear seat were not compelled to get out and walk. May 3, 1907 Asa GLASSBURN, Dr. TERRY and Arthur ALDRICH made a 105 mile run in Asa's automobile last Sunday afternoon. They were in Sterling, Dixon, Oregon and Morrison and were back in Tampico about 8:30 in the evening. The run from Sterling to Morrison was made in less than 40 minutes. August 9, 1907 Dr. TERRY and H.H. DOW were Sterling and Rock Falls visitors Tuesday. (edit note: H.H. DOW is a brother of my gg grandfather who was known as "Tip" DOW and was known for his cancer cure, which was part of his will when he died in Pasadena, CA - Les) August 23, 1907 Mrs. SULLIVAN and daughter Grace returned to Elgin last Saturday after a pleasant visit at the homes of C.R. ALDRICH and Dr. H.A. TERRY. May 6, 1915 OLD OFFICERS REAPPOINTED Mayor WOODS Reappoints Every Old City Official at the Council Meeting All the old officials and committee were re-appointed by Mayor WOODS at the frist regular meeting of the new council held Monday night. This is probably the first time in the history of the city when every old official has been assigned to his old place. The following are the appointments made: Treasurer - C.W. ALDRICH Marshal - C.A. VAN DREW Street commissioner - A.W. ARNOLD Health officer - H.A. TERRY October 12, 1816 LOSES FINGER IN ACCIDENT AT CEMETERY Mrs. Morrell FOY, wife of landlord FOY of the PITNEY Hotel, suffered a very painful and distressing accident at the Tampico cemeter Monday afternoon while assisting Mr. FOY to remove and dump earth from a large concrete urn to prevent it freezing. The urn is broken on its pedestal and its weight about 250 pounds caused it to slide quicker than anticipated, the jagged edges crushing three fingers quite badly. Mr. FOY managed to get her to the highway although the intense pain made her faint once and cuaght a passing auto to town. At the hotel it was necessary for Dr. WILSON assisted by Dr. TERRY to amputate the ring finger at the first joint and to take many stiches in the other crushed fingers. The accident was very painful and has laid Mrs. FOY up. June 20, 1918 Dr. H.A. TERRY the health officer fumigated the residences of G.W. SHERMAN, Wm. KILROY and Wm. McCREEDY this week and after proper examination raised the scarlet fever quarantine and let the people in those homes out of their homes. Mr. SHERMAN who has been rooming and boarding away from home returned to the fold much to his and his family's rejoicing after a five weeks enforced absence with only hello visits. October 30, 1919 Mr. and Mrs. Chas. R. ALDRICH and Mrs. H.A. TERRY were out at Anita, Iowa last week visiting Mr. ALDRICH's brother, J.H. ALDRICH and also the latter's daughter who came there from Seattle for a visit. C.R. ALDRICH says that they had no rain in Iowa west of Cedar Rapids and that the corn crop in southwestern Iowa is certainly very big. July 22, 1920 Doctors TERRY and HORN will each take a half day off every week until Sept. 1. Dr. TERRY will take Tuesday afternoons off and Dr. HORN Thursday afternoon. Their offices will be closed on those afternoons. Notice of these half holidays is published elsewhere in The Tornado. Last Edited by on Dec 27, 2006 2:54 PM

Post a Message

TAMPICO AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETY - MUSEUM - FAMILY HISTORY LIBRARY/RESEARCH CENTER 119 Main St., P. O. Box 154, Tampico, IL 61283 www.tampicohistoricalsociety.com tampicoareahistory@gmail.com We are an all-volunteer organization so your donations are always appreciated! Sign up to receive our e-newsletter. Thank you! Visit us on FACEBOOK.